{"id":154548,"date":"2026-03-05T21:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/154548\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T21:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:46:09","slug":"queens-university-group-stranded-in-qatar-amid-middle-east-conflict-kingston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/154548\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen\u2019s University group stranded in Qatar amid Middle East conflict &#8211; Kingston"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A group of students and a professor from Queen\u2019s University are stranded in Qatar after their flight home to Canada was forced to turn around amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Stephen Lougheed, a biology professor at Queen\u2019s University, was leading a field course in Sri Lanka with 16 students and a co-teacher. The group departed Colombo in the early hours of Feb. 28, flying Qatar Airways with a short layover in Doha before boarding a flight to Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>However, roughly an hour into that flight, the plane was abruptly turned around.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we were just beginning to fly into Iranian airspace,\u201d Lougheed said. \u201cThe captain did come on and say, \u2018We have to return to Doha \u2026 \u2018 I think there was some notion that a conflict had arisen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Upon landing back in Doha, the group was met with hundreds, or possibly thousands, of other stranded passengers facing similar flight diversions. After a long wait at the airport, the group was provided with emergency visas and hotel accommodations by the airline, where they have been sheltering in place ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no certainty because it\u2019s a closed airspace \u2026 because there are still missiles and drones flying,\u201d Lougheed said. \u201cThe recommendation from the Qatar government, the recommendation from the Canadian government, is to shelter in place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/national.jpg\" alt=\"For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n<p>For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the stress and uncertainty, Lougheed praised the students, who range in age from their early 20s to early 30s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a remarkable group of students,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re incredibly helpful to one another. They communicate very supportively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Canada<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>He added that Queen\u2019s University has been discussing potential academic accommodations for students who are missing assignments and experiencing stress ahead of midterm exams.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11714270\/cher-son-elijah-blue-allman-arrested-break-in\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/elijah-blue-allman-cher.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tCher\u2019s son, Elijah Blue Allman, arrested for 2nd time in 3 days\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11717940\/kristi-noem-reassigned-special-envoy-donald-trump\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/kristi-noem-reassigned.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tKristi Noem, who oversaw ICE operations, moved to new \u2018special envoy\u2019 role\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen issued a statement confirming that Global Affairs Canada is in contact with the group to offer assistance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe safety and security of Canadians remains the top priority for the Government of Canada,\u201d Gerretsen said. \u201cMinister [Anita] Anand recently provided an update on the efforts the Government is undertaking to secure block bookings, limited charter flights, as well as ground transportation services in certain areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gerretsen echoed the advice for Canadians in the region to shelter in place until travel plans are confirmed, and urged those needing help to contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre at 1-613-996-8885.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Lougheed confirmed the group has been in direct contact with the Canadian embassy in Qatar. The professor says his biggest fear is that the ordeal will discourage young people from travelling abroad and experiencing different cultures.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just don\u2019t want this experience to, you know, the lesson to come from this is we shouldn\u2019t leave,\u201d Lougheed said. \u201cI think empathy begets understanding, and I think that\u2019s what these field courses do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A group of students and a professor from Queen\u2019s University are stranded in Qatar after their flight home&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[10585,64054,62201,9,24,63,12774,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-154548","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-global-affairs-canada","10":"tag-middle-east-conflict","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-queens-university","15":"tag-queens","16":"tag-queens-headlines","17":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}